Image courtesy of Jefferson Matters

Since the city of Jefferson was established as a Main Street community in 2012, it has been a goal to reach the mountain top of accolades, today is that day.

Jefferson Matters won the Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA), as one of the three finalists for that distinction. Jefferson Matters applied and was named as a GAMSA semi-finalist in 2024, making it one of the top eight Main Street communities in the country. From there, Jefferson Matters put itself in position to be named as a finalist, or one of the top three Main Street communities nationally. Jefferson Matters was previously named a semi-finalist in 2020, but was not selected as a finalist. The other two finalists were Denison, Texas and Raton, New Mexico.

The announcement was heard live on KGRA 98.9FM and through the free mobile app, in conjunction with Jefferson Matters Facebook Live event from the Main Street Now National Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A video that Jefferson Matters participated in this past fall was also featured during the announcement.

According to Main Street America, there have been nine past GAMSA recipients from Iowa, with the last community being Woodbine in 2014. Raccoon Valley Radio will bring you continuing coverage in the following weeks.